The proliferation of AI is prompting the construction of a vast number of data centres by Big Tech companies such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon in both the Global North and the South. For example, media reports indicate that Microsoft has acquired land to construct a 660-megawatt data centre in Hyderabad, and there are 17 new data centres being set up in Chile.

This situation is worrying as data centres are becoming increasingly energy- and water-intensive, and quite often the needs and visions of the local communities have not been considered a relevant input in the design and development of these projects.

Against this backdrop, this workshop will host two discussion sessions with scholars from disciplines ranging from the humanities to engineering, and based in the South and the North, to discuss the socioenvironmental costs of the construction and operation of data centres from a planetary perspective. This workshop has been co-organised by the Human Sciences Research Centre (IIIT Hyderabad, India) and the Global Digital Cultures Research Group (King’s College London).

Speaker info

Session 1 (9 October)

• Pradip Thomas (The University of Queensland, Australia).
• Liza Cirolia (African Centre for Cities, South Africa) & Nicolás Díaz (Future of AI Research, Chile).
• Discussant: Paola Ricaurte (Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico).

Session 2 (23 October)

• Julia Velkova (Linköping University, Sweden).
• Patrick Brodie (University College Dublin, Ireland).
• Shaolei Ren (University of California, Riverside, USA).
• Discussant: Sebastián Lehuedé (King’s College London, UK).

This workshop will consist of two sessions. Both sessions will be held from 16:30 to 18:00 IST (India Standard Time) – 12:00 to 13:30 British Summer Time (BST) in-person (IIT Hyderabad, India) and online. Check your local time for the sessions on the following links: 9 October – 23 October.